The Founder's Tool Stack

Building the Founder Stack

As a founder, your time is the scarcest resource. Every tool you add must either save significant time or be absolutely essential to growth. The best founder tools require minimal configuration and run autonomously.

Founder Stack Principles

• Automation first: Set it up once, let it run
• Free tiers matter: Preserve runway for what matters
• All-in-one where possible: Fewer tools, less context switching
• Growth-ready: Will not need replacement at scale
• Self-serve: No sales calls to get started

The Minimum Viable Stack

What you actually need to launch:

• Payments: Stripe (non-negotiable)
• Email: Sequenzy for automation, any ESP for transactional
• Analytics: PostHog or Mixpanel free tier
• CRM: HubSpot free or a spreadsheet honestly
• Support: Shared inbox or Crisp

What Founders Often Skip (But Should Not)

These save more time than they cost:

• Email automation: Onboarding and trial conversion run automatically
• Scheduling tool: Eliminates back-and-forth email
• Documentation: Write it once, reference forever

What Founders Often Add (But Should Not)

Complexity that slows you down:

• Enterprise CRM: Salesforce is overkill before product-market fit
• Complex automation: Zapier chains that break constantly
• Multiple analytics: One good tool beats three mediocre ones
• Social media management: Post manually until it matters

Why Sequenzy for Founders

Email automation is one of the highest-leverage activities for founders. Set up trial conversion, onboarding, and dunning sequences once - they work while you sleep. Sequenzy's native Stripe integration means no complex setup. Just connect your payment provider and sequences automatically respond to trial starts, payments, and churn risk. Perfect for founders who need marketing that runs itself.